2019 CSU Commencement Ceremony

CSU is pleased to announce the 2019 Commencement Ceremonies will be held October 18, 2019 at the Foley Event Center at OWA. We will be having separate ceremonies for Graduate and Undergraduate students, so please take note of the ceremony times listed below.

The Graduate ceremony (DBA and Master’s) will be held at 9 a.m.

The Undergraduate ceremony (Bachelor’s and Associates) will be held at 1 p.m.

Important:

Students must comply with the following criteria to participate in the CSU Commencement Ceremony:

Students must have submitted a petition to graduate and have received audit results.

Students must have completed all graduation requirements or have submitted their enrollment registrations for any remaining course(s) required for program completion at the time of commencement registration.

Students who participate in the commencement ceremony and have not completed all of their graduation requirements are not eligible to be designated as graduating with honors.

Graduates must submit a $145 ceremony fee along with the commencement registration form to participate. Friends and family are welcome to attend the commencement ceremony, and each graduate can request up to four (4) tickets at no additional cost. Additional tickets can be purchased for $25 each. The graduate should not be included in the guest count and will not need a ticket. Additionally, small children that will be sitting in the lap of an adult and not seated in their own chair also do not require a ticket. Please note that as you fill out the registration form, you must request your guest tickets. This ensures we have an accurate head count and can allow as many graduates to participate as possible.

The deadline to register for commencement is September 6, 2019 or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. Once seating is filled and we have reached maximum capacity, registration will be closed and a wait list will be opened.

Portions of this event will be filmed and photographed and may be used for CSU marketing, advertising and general promotion efforts.

Registration for the 2019 Commencement ceremonies is closed.

Keynote Speaker

Lisa Leslie 4-Time Olympic Gold Medalist and 3-Time WNBA MVP

When the "face" of your sport is a Wilhelmina model, you know you're off to a good start. Lisa Leslie is undoubtedly the most-recognized player of both the WNBA and Team USA, who brought considerably more than a stunning visage and statuesque body to the court. Throughout her storied career Leslie was the absolute most dominant player in the women's game.

Leslie carried the gold-winning Team USA in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. With the 2008 gold medal, she became the first team sport athlete to win four consecutive Olympic Gold Medals. In 2001, Leslie was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. That same year she also led the Los Angeles Sparks to their first WNBA Championship. In 2002, she became the WNBA all-time leading scorer, was named MVP of the regular season for the second year in a row in leading the Sparks to their first back-to-back championship, and shocked the world with the first slam-dunk in WNBA history. Leslie would go on to win her third MVP trophy of the WNBA in 2006. Leslie is the first woman to slam-dunk in a professional game. Leslie was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2015.

Leslie became a commentator for ESPN in 2004, and has since been an in-studio sports analyst for ABC, Turner, Fox Sports Net, and NBC. She is currently a co-host of CBS Sports' "We Need to Talk", and an in studio analyst for the Orlando Magic for Fox Florida. Lisa recently starred in the Lionsgate film "Uncle Drew" alongside NBA superstar Kyrie Irving and NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal and Reggie Miller.

Leslie authored her own book "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You" in 2008, and in 2010 became the first WNBA player turned Co-Owner of the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2012, she both received her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and launched the Lisa Leslie Basketball & Leadership Academy.

Leslie resides with her husband, Michael Lockwood, and two kids, Lauren Jolie and Michael Joseph

Orders placed on or after 9/2/2019 will incur an expedited shipping fee.
All orders must be placed by 9/8/2019 to ensure delivery by Commencement.
Any order placed after this date is not guaranteed to arrive on time for the event and my not be accepted by Herff Jones.

Pre-Commencement Activities

Open House and Service Project
Where: Columbia Southern University
When: Thursday, October 17, 2019
Time: 1 - 4 p.m.

Join your fellow alumni, professors, and CSU staff on the CSU campus to celebrate your achievement! Enjoy touring the campus, meeting those who helped you along your journey, snap a photo with Sir Maximus, and participate in a service project benefiting the USO.